Vent seal



1935- -w. R. MOBLEY 1,988,325

VENT SEAL Filed March 28, 1932 t M v gt "we;

William B. Mobley, Miami, Fla. Application March as, 1932, Serial No. 601,550

4 Claims.

My invention relates to a vent seal and has for its principal object the provision of a simple inexpensive means whereby the vent line from storage tanks for volatile liquids may be sealed 5 from the open atmosphere. when the storage ural tendencycf volatile liquids suchas gasoline, ana rams-11w iath i o v po br p oc p of the liquid may tank is not being filled or emptied, while at the same time the vent line, by reason of my invention, may perform its usual functions of admitting or discharging air when the storage tank is emptied or filled.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described, having a capacity to hold a sufl'icient amount of liquid to relieve the expansion and contraction of the contents of the storage tank or receptacle, by passing the liquid from one chamber to the other, thereby preventing the admission or discharge of air or vapor except when the tank is being filled or emptied. v

A further object of this invention is to retain a desired pressure in the storage tank and discharge a portion of the air when such pressure is exceeded.

A further object of this invention is toprevent loss of the-contents of the storage tank by reason'of excessive evaporation. It is the natof evaporation'which causes considerable loss of pressure has been equalized. The repetition of' this natural phenomenon causes the constant circulation of air through the vent line and causes excessive evaporation.

A further object of my invention is to prevent the introduction into the tank by means of an open vent of foreign objects and/or matter such as insects, dust, rain, sparks, water or vapor.

A further object of my invention is to prevent the constant discharge of vapor from the tank, or the admission of air thereinto by virtue of the expansion and contraction continuously going on therein because of the presence of a volatile fluid; thereby eliminating entirely, or at least greatly reducing the fire hazard present in the conventional ventline, since a tank may not be ignited except through an opening communicat- P h lh l hfi l they amb rs-mat s; R.

be'increased. or decreased to v ing with the contents of said tank. As my'invention eliminates all openings to and from the storage tank except when the tank is being filled or emptied, it is apparent that a tank equipped with my device could not be ignited under ordinary conditions.

With these and other equally important objects and advantages in view,the invention also resides in certain other new and useful features renders it more 'eillcient in operation and less expensive to manufacture as will'be apparent.

to those skilled in the art.

I accomplish the objects of this invention by a of construction and arrangement of parts which 10 simple arrangement comprised of two separate 15 chambers, both of which are adapted to retain a liquid and communicate with each other below the top level of the said liquid, each of i the said chambers being provided with separate openings.

One of these chambers is provided with a con- 20 motion by means of which it may be connected to the vent line of the storage tank. When the pressure is increased or decreased in the storage tank, the liquid is forced or sucked from one chamber to the other, as'the case may be, to 25 sure.- To provide for equalization of variouspresadmit or discharge air to equalize the said prescause the seal to break, and admit or discharge 80 air. Also the relative size or area of the chambers may be variedto cause the seal to break and discharge air at a higher pressure and to admit air at a lower pressure.

Referringto the accompanying drawing, I have. 35

structed in accordance with an embodiment of 45 my invention.

Figure 2 is a view in top plan of the structure as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view in top plan showing a modifled form of Figures 1 and 2, by showing par- 5 titioned instead of cylindrical chambers as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4,is aview partly in side elevation and partly in section illustrating a modification of seal vent constructed in accordance with an embodiment of my invention as shown in, other figures.

.Referring particularly to the drawing and tight relation to the inner walls of the top of thecontainer 1, as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2, and terminating near the bottom of the said container as shown in Figure 1, form;- ing chambers "3", and 4". vEach of the said chambers are provided with separate openings 5" and 6". The opening "6" is provided with a connecting means f'7" (a lock nut being shown in this case) to which is connected a retum-bend formation "8 at the upper end of the vent line. The opposite end of which communicates with the storage tank (not shown). A liquid (preferably having a minimum evaporation) the level of which is shown at 9, is retained within the container 1", partly filling the chambers "3" and 4". When the pressure is atmospheric in both chambers, the liquid levels will be the same,-

Figure 3,1 have shown another form of the'invention which is the same as Figure l and 2, except that I employ a partition which is at-;

attached to the inner walls of the container "l in air-tight relation (as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3) and extending downward, terminating near the bottom of the said container "1", forming two chamiifirs which function the same as chambers 3 4" of'Figure 1.- The space (as indicated by 12 m Figure 1) between the bottom of the container 1" and the partition or cylindrical member 2" shown in Figure i, shall be of sufficient area to allow the liquid to be passed readily from one chamber to the other. While in Figure 1, this space is shown by means of cutting away at 12, part of cylindrical'member "2, communication between chambers "3" and -"4" may be established in any other way, and I mayincrease or diminish the size of the opening or the method of communication. not necessary that this last mentioned space be opposite the vent "5". Thus any sudden pressure will cause the liquid to rise more rapidly opposite the opening 5 and prevent loss through opening 5".- In Figures 2 and 3, the said opening 5" shown in Figure 1, is indicated by dotted lines. I may, under some conditions, find it desirable tame a screen or other contrivance to prevent passage of anything other than vapo through opening "5. v Y

Figure 4, is another form of. the invention and is substantially the same as Figure 1, except that pipes "10 and 11" perform the same function as openings 5" and 6" shown in Figure 1, respectively; I may also employ the opening "5" shown in Figure 1 in lieu of the pipe "10" shown in'Figurea, or I may employ the pipe "11 shown in Figure 4 in lieu of the opening "6 as shown in Figure l. The end of the pipe "11" is'provided with a connection means "12, threads being shown for the purpose in this case whereby it may be connected directly to the vent line in It is desirable but a vertical position without the return bend formation 8" shown in Figure 1.

Without further description, it is thought that the features and the advantages of-.the invention will be readily appealed to"thos'e"',iigilled in the art, and it will of course, be derstood that changes in form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without de parting from the spirit of the invention or its scope as claimed. 7

What I claim is:

1. A breather appliance for receiving from and returning to a body of volatile liquid those 3 volatile gases which would otherwise be lost by variable temperature changes, said device consisting of a receiving" chamber connected to a storage tank of such size as to store a substantial volume of vapor; and further comprising a second chamber andseparate openings to each chamber, one of which openings communicates with the vent line of said storage tank and the other with the atmosphere,said chambers communicating with each other through a liquid at a point sufiiciently below the level of said liquid so that said liquid produces sufiicient head pressure to prevent the escape of vapors during the normal heating process of the normal day.

2. A breather appliance for receiving from and returning to a body of volatile liquid those gases which would otherwise be lost by changes in temperature, said device consisting of a receiving chamber, a second chamber, and. separate openings to each chamber, one of which openings communicates with the vent line of a storage tank and the other with the atmosphere, both of said chambers being adapted to retain a liquid in their lower portions, and communicating with each.

other below the top level of said liquid at a point sufliciently below said top level so that said liquid produces a sufficient head pressure to prevent the escape of vapors during the normal heating process of the normal day.

3. A breather appl ance consisting of separate chambers and separate openings to each chamber, one of which openings communicates with the vent line of a storage tank, and the other with the atmosphere; said chambers communicating with each other through a liquid at a point sumciently below the level of said liquid so that said liquid produces a sumcient head pressure to prevent the escape of vapors during the normal heating process of the normal day.

4. A breather appliance forreceiving from and.

produces a snfiicienthead pressure to normally, prevent the escape of vapors, thereby precluding the admission or discharge of gas except when the tank is being filled or emptied.

. WILLIAM R. MORLEY. 

